434 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



These figures show in end results in favor of the stand- 

 ardized hospital a 7% lower death rate, and 177c more of 

 relieved patients. 



Our community of about 90,000 people is cared for by 

 310 general hospital beds. Last year 7,628 patients were 

 treated in the three local hospitals. Of these, 4,106 or 

 53% were surgical cases and 1,753 or 23% submitted to 

 major operations. 



Conserv^ative estimates show that the application of 

 the principles of standardization reduces the death rate 

 at least 1% and unnecessary operations at least 5%. 



This would mean the saving of 76 lives and the preven- 

 tion of 381 unnecessary surgical operations each year in 

 Winnebago County alone. 



As applied to Illinois, this would mean the annual sav- 

 ing of 4,000 lives and elimination of 20,000 needless op- 

 erations. 



About 6,000,000 people are treated in the general hos- 

 pitals of the United States each year. Based on the above 

 percentages, standardization will mean an annual saving 

 of 30,000 lives and 300,000 needless operations in the 

 United States. 



During the twenty months of our active participation 

 in the recent world war, about 80,000 of our soldiers died 

 of disease or wounds received in battle. According to our 

 figures, more than half as many lives will be saved in an 

 equal period through this hospital movement; 



Nothing has been said about that large number of ob- 

 scure surgical conditions which will be discovered and 

 corrected by a more efficient diagnosis and treatment. 

 Most of these border-line cases have here-to-fore re- 

 ceived very poor medical care or no treatment at all. 



We can easily comprehend the far reaching results of 

 the application of the principles of standardization to all 

 the hospitals of the country. 



1. It Avill result in abler diagnosis and more intelli- 

 gent treatment by a more efficient medical profession. 



2. It will help greatly to eliminate incompetent opera- 

 tors and unnecessars'- operations. 



3. It will do more than legal enactments to abolish the 

 evil of fee-splitting. 



